Filling head



United States Patent Office 2,721,021 Patented Oct. 18, 1955 FILLING HEAD Carl L. Day and John G. Voelker, Baltimore, Md., assignors to Crown Cork & Seal Company, Inc., Baitimore, Md., a corporation of N ew York Application Gct'ober 18, 1951, Serial No. 251,858

3 Claims. (Cl. 226-198) The present invention relates to a filling head and, more particularly, a filling head adapted to deliver liquid to a container.

Filling machines for filling containers with carbonated liquid usually include a syruping mechanism adapted to place a measured charge of syrup in each container before carbonated water is flowed into the container by another and larger water filling mechanism. In filling machines of rotary type, the syruping mechanism usually comprises a plurality of vertically reciprocable syrup filling heads operated in the manner disclosed in George I. Huntley and Robert J. Stewart Patent No. 2,234,305, issued March 11, 1941. As is described in said patent, during the rotation of the syrup filling mechanism, the filling heads successively descend into engagement with the mouths of aligned containers and contact of the filling tube of a head with a container mouth causes the tube to be elevated with the result that a syrup valve will be opened to permit syrup to flow from the head into the container.

Some difficulty is encountered with a filling tube arrangement such as disclosed in said patent because the upward movement of the filling tube with respect to the filling head occurs immediately the filling tube contacts with a container. In more detail, contact of the filling tube with the container immediately causes the filling tube to begin its valve opening movement and regardless of whether the outlet nozzle of the filling tube is properly positioned within the container.

An object of the present invention is to provide a filling head wherein the filling tube is so designed that it will not begin valve opening action until the outlet nozzle of the filling tube is properly positioned Within the container.

Other objects and advantages of the invention will be apparent from the following description and accompanying drawing which illustrates the filling head of the present invention in axial section.

As has been indicated above, the filling head of the present invention is similar to that of said Huntley and Stewart patent. In more detail, and as is described in said patent, each filling head is of cylindrical form and will be mounted for vertical movement within a vertical aperture or pocket of a casting rotatable with the syruping mechanism. The vertical position of each filling head will be controlled by means of an arrangement such as disclosed in said patent, for example, a bell crank having one arm connected to a syruping head will have its other arm in engagement with a rigid cam track. During rotation of the syruping mechanism, the bell cranks will swing in a vertical plane with the result that when an empty container is placed beneath a syruping head, the cam will permit the head to lower toward the container and flow of syrup into the container will occur. Then the cam will cause the syruping head to be elevated out of engagement with the container and the latter will move from the syruping mechanism to the filling table where carbonated water will be flowed into the container.

The filling head of the present invention also is similar to that of said patent in that it includes a body or casing 12 having a syrup measuring chamber 14 formed in its upper portion, the lower end of the chamber being formed by a transverse web 16. A block 15 adjustable Within chamber 14 as described in said patent will determine the quantity of syrup which will enter chamber 14. One or more vertical bores 18 extend downwardly through web 16 to open into the sides of a valve chamber 20 provided below the web. Syrup is delivered to head 10 from a source such as described in said patent and through a tube 22 opening laterally to a port 24 in web 16, the inner end of the port opening through a recess 26 positioned centrally of web 16 and opening to valve chamber 20.

A plate 28 is fixed to the lower end of casing 12, the plate including an upwardly extending annular boss 30 which fits in the lower end of valve chamber 20. A boss 32 also depends from plate 28 for a purpose hereinafter described. A filling tube 34 is vertically reciprocable in the bore 36 defined by the bosses 30 and 32. As also is described in said patent, filling tube 34 includes a central passage 38 extending upwardly from its lower end and terminating at arcuate cut-outs 40. As is clear from the drawing, when the filling tube is in lowered position with respect to head it the cut-outs 49 will be positioned below the upper end of boss 30. Tube 34 is of solid form above the cut-outs 4i and within valve chamber 26 has oppositely facing washers 42 and 44 secured thereto to form a double acting valve device. When the filling tube is in the position illustrated in the drawing, the lowermost washer 42 will bear upon an upstanding valve seat on boss 38. The washers 42 and 44 are secured to tube 34 by means of a collar 46 of such diameter that it will snugly fit into the syrup inlet bore 26 when the filling tube 34 is elevated as subsequently described. With the tube fully elevated, the upper washer 44 will engage a seat surrounding the bore 26.

Referring now to the construction of the filling tube and centering bell particuiarly comprising the present invention, it will be observed that filling tube 34 is provided intermediate its length with an annular flange 50 including a downwardly facing shoulder 52. The lower end of tube 34 has a nozzle 54 fitted therein, the lower outer portion of the nozzle being tapered to thereby readily move into the mouth of a container such as indicated at C. A centering bell 56 is slidably mounted on filling tube 34, bell 56 normally resting upon the nozzle 54 and being urged to that position by a coil spring 58 which surrounds the depending boss 32 and bears upon the upper surface of centering bell 56. It will be observed that an annular face 613 surrounding the centering bell bore 62 will be spaced below the face 52 of tube 34 when the centering bell is in the position illustrated.

Centering bell 56 will be provided with a sealing gasket 64 adapted to be engaged by the mouth of a container. Gasket 64 is so positioned with respect to the tube nozzle 54 that when the mouth of a container is in engagement with gasket 64, the nozzle 54 will depend into the container at least to the extent illustrated in the drawing.

The operation of the filling head is as follows: In accordance with the operation of a syrup filling mechanism described in said Huntley and Stewart Patent No. 2,234,305, when a container C is positioned below and in alignment with a filling head 10, the lowermost portion of centering bell 56 will be slightly above the mouth of the container C. Because filling tube 34 then will be in the position illustrated in the drawing, washer 42 on the upper portion of the filling tube 34 will be in contact with the boss 36, thereby sealing the syruping head against outward flow of syrup through filling tube 34. However, syrup may flow into the filling head through the infeed line 22 and bore 26 to valve chamber 20 and thence upwardly into the chamber 14. The volume of syrup admitted to chamber 14 accurately can be controlled by the 7 bottom of the bottle. JC past the nozzle 54 into the bore 62 of centering bell 56 1 to the usual radial ports 66 of the centering belll ing, the centering bell sealing ring 64 will seal against the mouth of the container, and the nozzle'54 of the tube will be within the container. Continued downward movement of filling head 10 will cause the filling tube nozzle 54 to move further down into the container while contact of centering bell 56 with the container mouth will cause the centering bell to move upwardly along filling tube 34 against the action of the spring 58.

" The upward movement of the centering bell 56 will continue until shoulder 68' of the centering bell engages the downwardly facing shoulder 52 of tube 34. Continued downward movement of filling head 10 with centering bell 56 engaging the container now will result in lifting the filling tube 34. During the initial portion of this movement, the collar 46 on the upper end of the filling tube will move into the bore 26 to close off the filling head from the syrup infeed line 22. When the upper washer 44 of the valve device contacts with the seat about bore 25, the head will be sealed against inflow of syrup. r

. When the cut-outs 40 are lifted above the upper surface of boss 30, syrup will flow from the chamber 14 through the bores 18 and valve chamber 2% into the bore 38 of the filling tube. By this time, the filling tube nozzle 754 will be substantially lowered within the mouth of the container C so that'there will be no possibility of syrup being wasted. Moreover, all of the syrup will fall to the Air may escape from the container continued lifting of the head 10 then will elevate the bell 56 entirely above the mouth of the container C so that the 7 After a brief period suflicient to permit all syrup to flow from the chambers 14 and 29 and'filling tube into the container, continuing rotation of the syruping mecha-i nism will causethe syruping head 10 to be elevated. During the initial portion of this elevating movement the weight of tube 34, bell 56 and-spring 58 will cause the tube to lower with respect to the body 12 of the head 10 to thereby move the cutout 49 below the upper surface of boss 30 and correspondingly move collar 46 out of the upper bore726. Continued downward movement of tube 34 with respect to lifting head it will cause the filling tube 34 to be closed against any downward flow of syrup and thereafter syrup may again flow into chamber 14 through 7 line 22. When filling head 10 has raised sufficiently with respect to container C, spring 53 will cause centering bell 56 to be moved downwardly against the nozzle 54'and the container may be removed from the syruping mechanism for movement to the carbonated water filling mechanism.

It will be observed from the foregoing that the invention accomplishesthe object mentioned above of insuring that the lower end of filling tube 34 will be substantially lowered within the mouth of the bottle before the filling tube can be operated to cause syrup to flow into the container.

The terminology used in the specificationis for the purpose of description and not of limitation, the scope of the invention being indicated in the following claims.

We claim: i r

1. In a filling head, a casing including a liquid-controlling valve chamber and a liquid measuring chamber in communication with each other, said casing including a bore extending downwardly from the valve chamber to the exterior of the casing, a filling tube reciprocable in'the bore, a container centering bell vertically movableupon the lower portion of said filling tube by contactwith a container to be filled, said bell including a downwardly facing surface to engage the mouth of a container, coope'rating means on the bell and tube to limit downward v movement of the bell along the tube, said tube and bell until the mouth of a container is positioned a substantial distance above the lower end of said tube, and a valve fixed to the upper end of said tube within said valve chamber and arranged to be raised by further upward movement of said tube in the bore of said casing to open said 1 tube to said valve chamber. 1

2. A filling head of the character described in claim 1 wherein said filling tube includes an outlet nozzle at its lower end and which projectsbelow the container contacting surface of said bell.

3. A filling head of the character described in claim 1 including a coil spring surrounding said tube and extending between said casing and bell to urge/the latter down-r wardly.

' References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Denmark 'Octf25, 1 937 

